Ken Johnson

37 POSTS
Ken Johnson is an Urban/Hip-Hop columnist for Barrett Media. Born and raised in Washington DC, his career experiences include serving as VP of Urban formats for Cumulus Media, holding the Director of Urban Programming post at ABC Radio Networks, and programming stations in Birmingham, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City. He has also managed affiliate relations for the Nick Cannon show, and worked as the Executive Producer of The Hughley Truth Podcast hosted by comedian DL Hughley. Ken currently runs Mean Ole Lion Media, a content creation company and podcast network. He can be reached by email at ken@kenjohnsonmedia.com.

Is Xania Monet’s Rise the Dark Side of AI for Urban Radio?

"What Xania Monet represents is not a soulless machine, but a new form of authorship. It is Black woman creativity meeting artificial intelligence, and together they are forcing a conversation about equity, control and imagination in the digital era"

Apps Are The Most Underrated Asset in Radio

"Owning this piece of your brand in the digital space elevates your personal brand, sharpens your digital skills, and future-proofs your career."

How the Passing of D’Angelo Brought Out the Best of Urban Radio

"These are the moments that build esteem for urban brands — the things that set us apart from other stations in the market"

Where R&B Radio Lives: Ranking the Top Cities That Shaped the Format

While I’ll admit this could be a bit subjective, since I haven’t lived or programmed in every city that I list in consideration, it’s still a fun debate.

Why There Is Nothing Like the Community of Urban Radio

"This business will teach you that the term friends can be used loosely"

Breaking

Evan Roberts Suggests Howie Rose’s Final Call Be Opening Day 2027 if Sunday Has Weather Delays

"You'll get plenty of more opening days. Let Howie and Keith Raad finish it the right way with 40,000 people, with optimism, hope, and then Howie can drop the mic and say I'm out."

Major Garrett’s CBS News Podcast ‘The Takeout’ Adds New Election Segments with VoteHub Partnership

CBS News is expanding The Takeout with Major Garrett...

SubmitHub Bans AI Music From Its Promotion Services

"We want to build a platform that actually helps people promote real music."

Xperi Data Shows Radio Listenership More Than Doubled On NFL’s Opening Sunday

"Overall Sunday audience share jumped 60% on average. Pre-game listening rose 111% heading into kickoff, and post-game audiences grew 152%."